One of the authors explained the phenomenon this way: "Seeing someone overweight leads to a temporary decrease in a person's own felt commitment to his or her health goal."

But you're not doomed to overeat every time you hang out with friends who aren't svelte. The scientists revealed a trick for falling into this pound-adding trap: think about the link between overeating and gaining weight. Yeah, we know it sounds too simple, but based on the study, just reminding yourself of connection is enough to keep you from going to town on a pasta dish or housing a tray of cookies.

Do you notice that your eating habits are affected by the people who are around you? Do you eat more or less when you're around overweight people?